By Larry Robinson
Note: this article was originally published in Model Yachting #113. It is now updated as of September 2000
Common Abbreviations
EORS - Equal Opportunity Racing System, a specific racing system developed by Peter Stollery
HMS - Heat Management System, a type of promotion relegation racing
HRS - Heat Racing System, a type of promotion relegation racing
ISAF - International Sailing Federation
NORC - NOrthwest Racing Circuit
NORC System - a type of promotion relegation racing
RSD - Radio Sailing Division of the International Sailing Federation, the governing body for radio sailing
The principle of fleet racing is to rank the boats from top to bottom based on performance. This is not too hard for full size boats. You just line them all up on the starting line and record the order as the boats finish. It's possible for 100 or more boats to race this way.
However radio sailing is different. It is difficult to race more than about 18 boats at once for a number of reasons. Nonetheless, when a large number of skippers come to an event, they want to know in the end who came in first, second, third and so on. Since all the boats cannot race at once, some sort of racing system must be used.
The Matrix System
The earliest solution was the matrix system. The simplest variation on this system might be to try to divide the fleet into groups of equal ability, and then have each group sail a series of races. One would then rank every boat by total score. This would not be a very fair system. Inevitably there would be an �easy group and a �hard group. To remedy this, a variety of plans evolved that dictated the races in which each boat was to sail. For example, you might be told to race the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th 11th and 12th race. Each skipper would have a different plan.
Setting the matrix up requires a modest amount of work by the race committee, and significant problems arise if some boats entered do not actually race. It has been said that there always seemed to be a �sweet spot in the matrix, as well as a �sour spot. Furthermore, the matrix does not deal well with boats that withdraw from the event. Several withdrawals can greatly unbalance the level of skill in the separate races. In the end, it is not a particularly fair a system. It served its purpose at the time, but in my opinion, it is not well suited for most AMYA Championship events and should not be used, unless the race committee does not have sufficient manpower. There are better solutions for race committees (and skippers) willing to learn how do use newer options. It's easy to run a matrix in a casual fashion, but quite hard to adjust it to maintain fairness as an event unfolds.
Promotion Relegation Systems
To overcome the problems of matrix systems, promotion relegation systems were developed. Such systems have been used at various AMYA events for over 10 years. In these systems, each �race is divided into a number of �heats which are considered to be ranked one ahead of another. This allows all the boats in the race as a whole to be ranked top to bottom, with the boats in the higher heat being placed ahead of the boats in the lower heat in each race. A series of these races then constitute an event. Heats are named in order from top to bottom: �A, �B, �C, etc. Depending on the number of boats entered in the event, heat sizes vary from about 6 up to 18 boats.
The key to promotion relegation systems is that the first few boats to finish in a heat are promoted to the next higher heat, and the last few boats are relegated to the next lower heat. That enables each skipper to achieve his highest level, instead of being stuck in a pre-assigned heat for the duration of the event.
There are two types of promotion relegation racing: heat racing systems (HRS) and what I will call equal opportunity systems*.
Promotion Relegation
Heat Racing Systems and Equal Opportunity Systems
In heat racing systems, boats are promoted or relegated at the time of the next race. In equal opportunity systems, heats are run in reverse order, and boats are promoted to the next heat in the very same race. The effect of this fundamental difference is discussed in more detail below.
Heat Racing Systems
Heat racing systems (HRS) were the first forms of promotion relegation to be developed and work as follows in this simple example:
Lets say 4 boats, (W, X, Y, and Z) are entered in a race to be run using a heat racing system. One or more �seeding races are sailed and the boats are split into heats based on their finishes. Perhaps boats W and X are seeded in the top heat, and boats Y and Z are seeded in the bottom heat. The boats then sail in their respective heats, and lets say that W wins the top heat, while Y wins the bottom heat. To score the race as a whole, the boats are ranked (ordered top to bottom) in this way: W, X, Y, and Z last. The scoring rules of the particular HRS system used are now applied to generate the points that each boat earned for the race as a whole.
But this would not be fair if the boats had to stay in their assigned heats. Boats Y and Z would not have a chance to a win a race, only a heat! Thats where promotion and relegation come in. After the seeding races are finished and for the duration of the promotion relegation part of the event, the boats are shuffled a bit after each race. For the next race, the last few boats in a heat are demoted (relegated) to the next lower heat, and the top few boats in a heat are promoted to the next higher heat. In the example, X could be demoted to the lower heat, and Y could be promoted to the higher heat. In real life, typically 4 boats are eligible for promotion and the same number for relegation. In that way, heat sizes remain unchanged.
Now imagine that there are a sizeable number of boats in each heat. Some might feel that a first place finish in a lower heat should be worth more than being ranked below the last place boat in the heat above. A variant of the HRS arose to address this issue. The solution was to interleave the heat results. For example, the first place finisher in a lower heat might be given a score equal to the second to last place boat in the heat above. And the second place boat in the lower heat might be given a score equal to the last place boat above. There were different amounts of interleaving used in various HRS versions.
The principal difficulty with the HRS is that the best a skipper can do is to win his heat and get promoted for the next race. So at very large events where there may be as many as 5 heats, an excellent skipper who somehow ended up in the bottom heat would have to sail in 5 races, doing well in each one, before he has a chance to win a race as a whole. Conversely, an unskilled but lucky skipper who was seeded in the top heat could garner points that perhaps he did not really deserve until he reached the bottom heat.
Nonetheless a heat racing system is still used for RSD Championship events, because of the large number of boats involved (up to 80) and issues regarding handling protests and redress under equal opportunity systems.
Equal Opportunity Systems
In about 1992 Peter Stollery came up with a marvelous idea that overcame the difficulty with the HRS. Peter called it the Equal Opportunity Racing System (EORS). Unlike in heat racing systems, where the top heat sails first, an equal opportunity system calls for the lowest heat to sail first. The first 3 or 4 boats in that heat (depending on the exact system used) are not scored however. They stay on the water and get a chance to compete in the next higher heat. The boats that are not promoted have earned their score for the race.
If one of those promoted boats again finishes in the top 3 or 4 in the following heat, it can again stay on the water. Thus is it is possible for that boat, or any boat, to win the race. Its just like real fleet racing, where each boat has the potential to win any race. Its very fair, and thats why it can be called an equal opportunity system. To keep the heat size constant, the bottom 3 or 4 boats in a heat are relegated (demoted) to the next lower heat for the next race. So the relegation part is just like HRS.
I should mention that in the most recent RSD approved equal opportunity system, (called the Heat Management System) 'relegation' is not mentioned directly, but is accomplished by loading the heats for the next race based on the boat's place in the previous race. The RSD Heat Management System (HMS) is available for download on the RSD web site at www.radiosailing.org
Equal Opportunity Limitations - HRS Usage
At very large, highly competitive international events where protests are common, it may become difficult to resolve protests and requests for redress in a timely manner where they may affect promotion. For this reason a heat racing system is currently used at RSD Championship events. The latest RSD HRS offering is called Heat Racing System 2000 (HRS 2000) and is available on the RSD web site at www.radiosailing.org This system promotes and relegates 4 boats at a time and does not use interleaving as described above. Because it can take many races for a capable skipper to progress up through the fleet, heat racing systems are more prone to frequent requests for redress.
There should be few if any AMYA events where a heat racing system would be preferable to an equal opportunity system. One heat racing system that I feel is outdated and should not be used for any AMYA event is the original NORC System, which is found in the 1990 vintage AMYA publication on how to run a regatta.
Equal Opportunity System Variants
Equal opportunity systems come in a number of different flavors, a few of which I will mention here. The NORC 94 and NORC 95 Systems are regional adaptations of a 1993 vintage Stollery EORS. They have been used in the Northwest for some time, as well as at a number of AMYA National Championships. These systems use 3 seeding races to assign the boats to A, B, and if needed, C heats before promotion relegation racing begins. The NORC 94 system promotes and relegates 3 boats at a time, while the NORC 95 system calls for �four up and four down. The NORC 94 system is available at http://web3.foxinternet.net/lrobinson//page45.htm. In my opinion, these systems are now outdated and should not be employed unless a race committee is already using them and does not wish to change.
In contrast, the current RSD equal opportunity system (the Heat Management System) uses only one seeding race, and subjects 4 boats to promotion/relegation. The simplicity of the HMS helps reduce the confusion that some skippers experience at their first promotion relegation event. Boats are assigned to a heat for the first race, and based on their finish in that heat, are then assigned to an appropriate heat for the next race, A, B, C, etc, depending on the size of the regatta. From there on, skippers just have to remember �4 up and 4 down. Heat sizes up to 18 boats are permitted. HMS has been able to handle as many as 70 boats in United Kingdom ranking events and national championships. This system is also being used successfully in a number of countries around the world, including here in the US. Frequency conflict resolution, which could be a bit more difficult than under a heat racing system, is said to be easily manageable, provided that the race committee is observant. Race committees using HMS may find the skipper's guide to HMS below helpful.
Scoring Considerations
Scoring events based on promotion relegation is somewhat more complex than that for matrix systems. Special scoring sheets for HMS are available from the AMYA RRC that make the task easier when done manually. Additionally, the RRC can refer race committees to computer scoring programs for HMS, as well as HRS if necessary.
Another way to understand equal opportunity racing Once a skipper or race committee has seen an equal opportunity system in action, in becomes very easy to understand. If you have never been to a regatta where equal opportunity is to be used, reading the official racing system document referenced in the Notice of Race can be a bit confusing. The following is just one way of looking at it. As with any scoring system, it's important to know the meaning of the words 'place' and 'score'. 'Place' is a ranking: first place, second place, and so on. A numerical value or 'score' is then given for each place, based on the method described in the particular system used. Scores for the individual races are added to arrive at the final results for an event. Discards or throw-outs of one or more of a skipper's worst race scores are allowed in equal opportunity systems. In an equal opportunity event, think of each heat, if possible, as being made up of 4 relegated boats coming from the heat above in the last race and 4 promoted boats coming from the heat below in the current race. If you finish a heat in the top 4, stay on the water to sail in the upcoming heat. If you finish in the bottom 4, you will sail in the next lower heat when the next race comes up. For the skipper, it's that simple.) When all the heats in a race are finished, all the boats in the race can be ranked, B heat following A heat, C heat following B heat, and so on. |
* A note on terminology: I have used the term 'Equal Opportunity Racing System' (EORS) to indicate the specific racing systems written by Peter and Roger Stollery. The term 'equal opportunity systems' is meant to refer to systems based on the general concept developed by the Stollerys, but modified by others.
LR, 10-23-98, revised 9-28-2000
Note: this article is intended for distribution to skippers at a HMS event to help them appreciate how it works.
A Skipper's Guide to HMS
Understanding the RSD Heat Management System
The beauty of an equal opportunity system is that the result of each race is in the skippers hands. Each skipper has a chance to win every race. Everyone has an 'equal opportunity'. This is accomplished in the following way in the RSD Heat Management System.
Race 1:
First, every boat sails in one seeding round. HMS calls this round 'Race 1'. Based on the results, boats earn their heat assignments for the next race. Your score for Race 1 does count towards your final score, and it is also eligible as throw-out. Your assignment for Race 1 is listed below.
After Race 1, ranked heats:
After Race 1, each race is divided into a number of ranked heats, which are sailed sequentially, starting with the lowest heat. When all of the heats in the race are finished, that particular race is over. At this point all the boats in the race as a whole can be ranked top to bottom, with all those in the top heat ahead of all those in next lower heat and so on.
Promotion from a lower heat:
Here is an example of how this might work when the fleet is large enough to require 3 heats. They will be labeled A, B, and C. (Sometimes the heats are referred to as 'fleets'). Heat assignments based on finishes in Race 1 will list four more boats in the C heat, as compared to the A or B heats. For example, there might be 16 boats in C heat, 12 boats in B heat and 12 boats in A heat. The lowest ranked �C heat sails first. The first four boats to finish in the C heat are not scored in that heat, but are allowed to stay on the water and compete in the B heat. Those four boats get 'promoted'. Now you can see the reason for the larger number of boats in the C heat.
The boats in the C heat from fifth place on do not advance and thus have earned their score for the race as a whole at this point (unless there are DSQs in later heats). For example, the last place boat in the C heat is ranked as last place in the race, and the next to last place boat in the C heat is ranked as next to last.
After the C heat has finished, the B heat starts. The four boats advancing from the C heat now have a chance to compete again for the top four spots in the B heat and advance further. After the end of the B heat, the first four finishers in the B fleet advance to the A heat, but they are not yet scored. The rest of the boats have earned their best position for that race. The skippers advancing from the B fleet now have a chance to win the A heat and thus the race as a whole. After the A heat finishes, all the boats have earned their best score. Thus every skipper gets a chance to win each race. A number of these races then constitute the event.
What you have to remember (for each race): first 4 boats; stay on the water.
Keeping heat sizes constant:
In order to keep the heat sizes constant, the last four boats finishing each heat will in effect be relegated to the next lower heat in the following race. The rest of the boats will stay in the highest heat that they were able to progress to in the previous race. However, HMS does not use the word 'relegation'. It accomplishes the same thing by use of tables to make heat assignments based on the race just completed. For example, the last four boats finishing in the B heat of a given race will begin the next race in the C fleet. Even so, they still have a chance to win that next race. Skippers may find that the phrase �four up and four down is helpful in understanding how the system works. The race committee will most likely post heat assignments for the next race. Frequently this is done by shuffling boat numbers on some sort of race board that has columns for each heat. Be sure to check it. Missing your heat will not help your score!
Skipper / Boat #: _________________________
Your Heat Assignment for Race 1: _____________
11-99 Larry Robinson, rev 8-2000
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